Three Palestinians die in raids

The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades are associated with Yasser Arafat

Israeli troops have shot dead three Palestinians while arresting suspected militants in the West Bank.

One of the dead was a suspected Hamas militant, Israeli and Palestinian sources said, who reportedly opened fire on troops in the town of Tulkarem.

The other two were killed in Nablus. Israel said the men, had resisted arrest. Palestinian sources named the dead men as al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades members Naim Atari and Aboud Kasas.

A total of 24 suspected militants were rounded up overnight, the army said.

Eleven were detained in the Nablus raid in which the two Palestinians died.

The man shot in Tulkarem was identified as Hisham Haraish, 21, of Hamas.

Israel has been cracking down more intensively on suspected extremists in the West Bank in the past several weeks.

A dozen Palestinians have been shot dead in the past nine days, the Associated Press reported.